Recently released—in the best possible way of course—from the State University of New York in Albany, Johnny Saris did what any college graduate with a major in music and a minor in economics would do within two weeks of getting his diploma. He went offshore racing.

And it turned out to be a smart and productive move, as he teamed up with his father and longtime racing partner, Jason Saris, of Saris Racing Engines in Lake George, N.Y., to take top honors in Class 4 during last weekend’s Offshore Powerboat Association season-opener on New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay. Velocity Racing, another Saris engine-powered boat V-bottom, finished right behind them.

“It was kind of a light turnout,” said Saris of the two-boat field. “We’re not really used to having fleets that small in our class. Each boat was powered by 650-hp Saris engines—ours is naturally aspirated and theirs is supercharged with Whipples on low boost—so we agreed to take it easy until the last three laps. They’re going to the Lake Race next weekend and we’re going to Atlantic City after that, so we wanted to preserve the equipment.

Read More: Serious Saris Sunday

Photo courtesy/copyright Tim Sharkey/Sharkey Images